Defence minister seeks adoption of AI, other technologies to tackle insecurity

Nigeria’s Defence Minister, Christopher Musa, has called for wider use of artificial intelligence, unmanned systems and other emerging technologies as security threats evolve.

Speaking at a Defence Ministry colloquium in Abuja, Musa said advances in artificial intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, cyber capabilities and unmanned systems were changing military operations and the strategic environment. He said Nigeria’s defence structure needed to remain agile and forward-looking, with the ability to anticipate threats, respond decisively and protect the country’s territorial integrity and national interests.

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Our defence architecture must remain agile and forward looking, with the capacity to anticipate threats, respond decisively and protect Nigeria’s territorial integrity and vital national interests.

Musa said adopting these technologies would require more than equipment. Nigeria must also strengthen the human, doctrinal and institutional capacity needed to incorporate them into the Armed Forces and maintain an operational advantage.

The ministry’s media adviser, Leah Katung-Babatunde, said the colloquium was designed to connect defence strategists, policymakers, technologists, civil society leaders, academics, the media and state actors. She said the participants aimed to develop actionable pathways, inform public policy and create a practical blueprint for national resilience.

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We are not assembled here today merely to catalogue challenges, but to forge actionable pathways, inform public policy, and construct a practical blueprint for national resilience.